Waiting Wednesday: Tommy

Today I come to you friends begging. Begging for a family for a boy little boy who has broke my heart. His name is Tommy.

He is older than me, almost 16, and he has NEVER known the love of a family. NEVER. And that just plain breaks. my. heart.

Instead of trying to find the adequate words to describe the need of this little boy, I will just share with you the words of Susanna, an adoptive mama who is doing amazing things for the children she had to leave behind at Katie's orphanage. Please read her post below. Please.

Rise up, Church! Rise up and be the hands and feet of Jesus!

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Rise up.

“Like a mighty army
Moves the church of God…” 

Some wonderful things are going on with Verity.  She had her happy birthday yesterday, but I haven’t typed one word or uploaded one picture of her comprehensive two-year-old update.

We’re seeing Katie make more progress, including onemajor milestone she reached this week.

I have so much to tell you about both our little precious girls, but I just can’t.

The words are dying in my throat, because of…

Tommy.

Do you remember Tommy?  I know for sure that four of you remember him and pray for him, because you have told me so!

Tommy is never out of my mind.

When I think of all I have to report about Verity, this two-year-old child of privilege who has been unstintingly loved and gotten the very best support for her needs from the time I saw two lines on the pregnancy test, I think of the fifteen+ years of Tommy’s life that have been totally and unnecessarily wasted.

When I watched Katie reach her big milestone this week, and cried tears of joy for her, they were mixed with aching tears that in less than a year, she has learned skills that Tommy could have learned an entire lost childhood ago.

When I work with my two little girls with their feeding skills, using all the little tricks that are so easily learned and utilized to help a child with low muscle tone and tongue thrust, I think of Tommy.  I wonder if prospective parents can’t see past his tongue thrust.  It is invisible to my eyes when I look into his face.  It should not become his death sentence.

Our little girls are safe and thriving and being loved.  Not like Tommy.

When I’m alone, my thoughts turn to prayer that God would open up someone’s heart and put Tommy in there to stay, no matter what.

Every time I check email, I look hopefully for the message that says…the boy with the million-dollar smile has a family coming for him.

I hope for the message that says…finally! finally! at the eleventh hour, he will be taken home and thoroughly loved.

When I read this important blog post, I wept, “O Lord, please have mercy!”  How I pray that every one of you would click on that link, read every word, look at the photos, watch the videos, and then do whatever God wanted you to do about what you saw.

And when I read that post, I thought of Tommy.  He’s almost out of time.

How long will he keep smiling when he’s lying in the bed at the adult mental institution?  How long until he decides to give up, because he no longer has even a baba to get him out of bed and hold him for a few hours a week?

Listen, friends!  These are not unsubstantiated words typed out of a vivid imagination!  If a family does not commit to adopt this tiny gentle boy with the sunny disposition, he will end up in a place that makes even the bad baby houses seem cushy by comparison.

I haven’t been silent about Tommy because I’ve forgotten him, no longer care about him, or have lost hope for him.  Honestly, at this point, if I blogged exactly as I pleased and thought it would actually help instead of scaring you all away, I’d show you his photo and talk about him everyday.  I’ve actually toyed with the idea of explaining calmly that I will post more about our two cute little superstars when I’ve heard from five hundred people who promise to pray for him until a family comes forward for him.  No, make that a thousand.

I know by looking up our blog stats just now that many of you did share the last post about him.  Thank you to every single one of you!

But here’s how it stands now.

There is no way to help financially toward Tommy’s adoption until he has a family.  God has seen to it that all has been done to make him available to be adopted.

ALL TOMMY NEEDS NOW IS A FAMILY.

He needs a flesh-and-blood family with love in their hearts and room in their home to say they will adopt him.  As soon after that as Shelley Bedford gives me the word, we can start helping them raise the funds as quickly as possible so that money doesn’t hold them back from kicking off their shoes and running for all they’re worth to get him.

The more time that goes by without a family committing to Tommy, the more urgent his need grows.  Time is moving inexorably toward his sixteenth birthday.

In other words, Tommy’s need for a family to commit to adopt him is more urgent now than it was two weeks ago.

So if you haven’t already helped to spread the word about Tommy, could you please do it now?  If you have already told everyone you know, could you contact them again and ask them to pass it on, and so on, and on, until the right family hears about him and comes forward?

And friends, if you might be Tommy’s family, please email Shelley Bedford without delay!  shele337@gmail.com

We’re praying for a miracle.  We’re praying for the mighty army of the church of God to MOVE for Tommy.